Question

Today, you will evaluate a specific geographic area of the country to see how voting patterns have changed over the past 25 years. You will write a reflection paper describing these changes and evaluating the possible influences that have led to these changes. Be sure to study both shifts in voting patterns and shifts in redistricting patters as you work to form a conclusion. Choose a geographic area to study. This can be a state, a specific region within a state, or a specific region of the country (such as the Sunbelt). Identify shifts in both voting patterns and districting boundaries for that region over the past 25 years. Hypothesize reasons for shifts in both voting patterns and districting boundaries. Write a reflection paper describing the shifts and evaluating their causes. Prompt In the space provided, write a 400 to 500-word reflection paper describing shifts in voting patterns and districting boundaries for a specific geographic area over the past 25 years. Include an evaluation of the causes for these voting shifts and districting boundaries.

Answer 1

Probably one of the biggest voting shifts and redistricting processes ever to take place in the United States came after the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act, because it enabled groups of citizens like African Americans and other minorities to become elegible to vote. Another issue, especially after the political shifts coming from the 1960´s, was the redistribution of population densities around states and regions of the country into voting districts that came from the increase in population, especially with minority groups. Another thing that has changed the electoral process in the last 25 years has been the improvement in technological advancements, which has given more people access to the voting system. On the darker side of things, this redistribution of possible voters into voting districts, and the presence of much more advanced technologies like the GIS, Geographic Information System, has allowed parties to locate and redistribute their campaign powers to target specific groups within these districts to ensure success.

One such case of redistricting and change in electoral patterns is Arizona. In the election of November of 2000, voters in this state proposed a change in their state constitution and with it started the IRC, Independent Redistricting Comission. This ammendment to the Arizona constitution sought to change the irregularities in the control of the voting patterns and population distribution into districts. Initially, the IRC began under the precept of equal-population districts that were distributed into a grid and it was all regulated by the Voting Rights Act. Also, and very important, was that this ammendment prohibited the use of political data for the initial drawing process so that parties could not manipulate the outcomes. However, in 2004, it was seen that this was not the case and what was originally thought to be an equal-based redistribution of districts, turned out to be otherwise.

There have been changes in voting patterns then since the 1960´s due to many causes, one of which was the inclusion of minorities and African Americans, most especially, into the voting process. This fact has affected the electoral outcomes for both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Redistricting has also changed the way that the voting process goes, although it may not be enough to change electoral outcomes.